Betting firm raises concerns on match-fixing allegations in Turkey

Sunday, October 30, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News



Online versions of İddaa, the popular game over several sports, are the sole legal forms of online betting in Turkey.

A Turkish online betting company is concerned about the match-fixing and bribery allegations that caused first-division club players and administrators to be investigated by police in July.

“We are faced with 10 percent loss in our company’s revenues,” said Emin Hitay, chairman of the board at Hitay Investment Holding, which owns 20 percent share in bilyoner.com. The online company is only authorized to provide service for İddaa, the sole legal football betting game in Turkey.

“It could have seriously damaged the betting companies,” Hitay told a small group of journalists in Istanbul. He said the situation could have been even worse for Turkey’s betting companies if Fenerbahçe, last year’s league title winners, were disqualified from the league due to bribery and match-fixing allegations.

Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım is still in custody on allegations along with several other professionals. “A mistake by the administrators of the club should not be binding on the club itself,” he said.

The online betting company’s revenues reached 550 million by the end of September this year, he said. Many unregistered foreign online betting companies are operating in Turkey without paying taxes and threaten legitimate vendors with unfair competition, he said.

“Certainly they pay out higher than Turkish betting companies because they are unregistered in Turkey, illegally collecting money and not paying taxes,” he said. “This is clearly unfair for Turkey’s betting sector.”

Hitay ranked among the first businessmen to launch online point of sale systems in Turkey under the name of Planet, later sold to French payment services provide Ingenico in 2007 for nearly 26 million euros, he said. “We have created a new online point of sale systems company called “İki Nokta” with a nearly 13 million-euro investment,” he added.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Turkey’s trade deficit widens to record highs

Thursday, October 27, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey’s trade deficit raised to record-high levels in September. Domestic saving rates should be increased to address the problem,  economists argue.



The trade deficit peaked to $10.4 bln in September, compared with $6.7 bln it was in 2010’s same month TÜİK figures show. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK.

Turkey’s trade deficit widened to a record level in September compared with last year, official figures published yesterday show.
Skyrocketing current trade deficit and a low domestic savings ratio in the growing economy raise concerns about the country’s dependency on import products and booming demand, according to professionals.

The trade deficit was $10.4 billion in September, the biggest gap recorded, compared with $6.7 billion on September last year and $8.2 billion the previous month, according to figures published by Turkey’s Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Measures taken by Turkey’s Central Bank have thus failed to reduce the trade gap in September, an economist told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkey might have already experienced the “peak” in its trade deficit by last month, and it might take a few months for the Central Bank’s steps to show their effect on the economy, Erol Katıcıoğlu, a professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, told the Daily News yesterday.

“Still, the Bank might be pushing the envelope regarding its moves between restrictive and expansionary monetary policies, he added.

More expensive imports
The Turkish Lira’s recent depreciation “might be seen as [a chance] to put the brake on booming consumption and imports in Turkey,” said Katırcıoğlu, adding that imports had not slowed down, although they have become more expensive, with the lira’s depreciation.

The trade gap grew faster than expected by markets, which estimated the deficit to be around $8.5 billion in September, mainly due to a considerable rise in imports, whichtotaled $21 billion in September – $2 billion higher than the markets’ expectation – thus marking an increase of 35 percent compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, exports accrued in line with expectations at $10.8 billion. The gap for the first nine months of 2011 was $82 billion.

“It is obvious that the annual trade deficit will be way beyond expectations,” said Erdal Sağlam, an Istanbul-based economist.

Demand has not been reduced yet in line with expectations from the economy administration, he said, adding that low saving ratios in a country with strong demand could trigger further problems down the line.

“We expect to see an economic slowdown starting from November thanks to the Central Bank’s new policy that employs the interest rate corridor to increase overall interest rates in the economy,” he said in a statement emailed yesterday.

Domestic savings
Structural problems are still preventing Turkey from forging a sustainable economy, said Erdoğan Alkin, a Daily News columnist. The savings ratio problem still remains a key issue ahead of the country, mainly stemming from income injustice and a failing tax policy, he said. The ratio of domestic saving to gross domestic product in Turkey is currently at record-low levels and is expected to go down to 12 percent by yearend, compared to 12.6 pct it was in 2010.
Thursday, October 27, 2011

Ankara, Baku puts 5$ bln in refinery

Tuesday, October 25, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The first step for Turkey’s largest private sector investment is taken between Turkish energy company Turcas Petrol and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan as they invest $5 billion into a joint venture in İzmir.




A refinery of PETKİM in İzmir is seen behind the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish PM Erdoğan. AA photo.

Turkish energy company Turcas Petrol (Turcas) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) have poured nearly $5 billion into a refinery at their PETKİM Petrokimya Holding joint venture in İzmir, making it Turkey’s largest private sector investment.

The refinery is scheduled to begin operating in 2015 with a capacity to process 10 million metric tons of crude oil. The deal is the result of the strong cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during the refinery’s groundbreaking ceremony.

The construction process will create 10,000 temporary jobs, while 1,000 permanent jobs will be created following the opening of the Aliağa Petrochemical Peninsula, Erdoğan said. “We have previously connected Baku oil to the world through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline,” the prime minister said. Azerbaijani natural gas is also transported to the eastern province of Erzurum via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline. Erdoğan also said a Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway would also be completed soon to connect the people of the three countries. The privatization of PETKİM reinforced the economic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan by creating an economic partnership stemming from Turkish-Azeri friendship, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, adding that the deal followed the logic of the “one nation, two states” mantra shared by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

A cluster model between SOCAR and Turcas
“Our power is our alliance,” Aliyev said, adding that the volume of the natural gas would be increased from Baku to Erzurum. As part of the investment, SOCAR and Turcas will follow a cluster model. There will be a refinery with feedstock reliability, a crude oil processing capacity of 10 million tons, a container terminal with a minimum capacity of 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), an integrated port and a logistic area by the end of 2015. As part of the deal, Turcas and SOCAR established a joint venture company called SOCAR & Turcas Energy (STEAŞ), 25 percent of which will be controlled by Turcas.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Turmoils shift the axis of Islamic investments

Monday, October 24, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The ongoing unrest in North Africa and the Middle East have directed many investors from Gulf countries to Turkey. The newcomers include many Islamic bankers, says to top executive of Dubai-based Noor.


Hussain Alqemzi, the chief executive of Noor Bank, says they have recently inked a $350 million deal with Albaraka Türk, the participation bank based in Istanbul. Company photo.
Turkey has attracted significant investments from Gulf countries as well as Islamic bankers due to the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the top executive of the Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank.

“Turkey served as the safe haven regarding investments from the Middle East,” said Hussain Alqemzi, Noor’s chief executive officer, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday on the sidelines of the Islamic Investment and Finance Forum in Istanbul.
“Certainly we would like to see more stability in the region, which would pave the way of the investment climate,” Alqemzi said, adding that the Noor Islamic Bank has been mandated to arrange and manage more than $1.4 billion Islamic finance capital market deals in Turkey in the last 18 months, making it the most active United Arab Emirate bank in the country.
“Turkey’s economic growth and strength make it an attractive market for Gulf investors,” Alqemzi said.

Turkey contracts
He said the Turkish deals led by Noor have been very well received by the global markets as demonstrated by the participation of over 55 institutions from 15 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and Middle East.
The latest of the shariah-compliant transactions is a $350 million dual-currency Islamic-structured murabaha syndicated financing facility for Albaraka Türk, a participation bank in Turkey.
“Launched at $150 million, the facility was more than two times oversubscribed to close at $300 million and has in fact become the largest Islamic-structured syndicated financing facility raised by any Turkish financial institution, Alqemzi said.

Noor has an active pipeline of deals for the rest of this year and leading into 2012 regarding Turkey, he said.
“The deals that we are close to concluding will be worth nearly $600 million,” Alqemzi said. “We are setting records, while at the same time pushing the boundaries of existing Islamic banking business in Turkey.”
According to Alqemzi, Turkey currently is the top priority for the bank since Turkey’s interest in Islamic banking is rapidly increasing.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Bahrain, Kuwait Oman, Qatar, United Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates already reached a total investment of $10 billion in Turkey as of the end of the last year, Alqemzi said.

“Noor is pleased to work with its Turkish partners,” he said, adding that Noor might launch a branch in Turkey.The total trade volume between Turkey and the six member states of the GCC reached approximately more than $17 billion last year.

Banks accused of pressuring on Turkish-Iranian accounts

Friday, October 21, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Some Turkish businessmen claim certain local banks are forcing them to close joint accounts with their Iranian partners due to US sanctions. The lenders openly deny the claims



Iranian women walk past an anti-America mural on the wall of the former US embassy in Tehran in this photo. Some lenders are investigating joint Turkish-Iranian bank accounts as part of the US sanctions on Iran, a businessman says. REUTERS photo



There is growing trade and investment between Turkish and Iranian businesspeople but some Turkish lenders have begun to request the closure of joint bank accounts with Iranians due to international sanctions against the Islamic republic, according to Turkish business leaders.

Certain Turkish banks have allegedly asked their Turkish clients to close their joint bank accounts with Iranian business partners, according to Turkish businessmen speaking on condition of anonymity. “A Denizbank branch said they would close my bank account, a joint account with an Iranian businessman, unless I did it myself,” one Turkish business leader told the Hürriyet Daily News on Oct. 19, adding that the bank did not provide any further information.

“We have not asked for the closure of joint bank accounts,” Selin Aksu, head of corporate communications at Denizbank, told the Daily News in a written statement Oct. 21. “We do not [intervene in] any money transfers between Turkey and Iran,” she said, adding that the purpose of U.S. sanctions over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program was to block transactions and prevent bilateral trade with Iran.

“The inquiry is related to U.S. sanctions on Iran,” a client of Türkiye Ekonomi Bankası (TEB), another Turkish lender, told the Daily News on Oct. 20, adding that the bank had recently asked for the closure of joint accounts with Iranian businessmen.

TEB officials denied the claims when contacted by the Daily News on Oct. 21.

Iranian bank in Istanbul
“Turkish banks stopped working with us three months ago,” an employee at Iranian Bank Mellat’s Istanbul branch, which specializes in international trade, told the Daily News on Oct. 21.

“The U.S has asked Turkish lenders not to work with us; after this, Turkish lenders started to conduct serious investigations into Turkish-Iranian joint bank accounts,” said the banker.

“The number of new clients has jumped by almost 50 percent in the last few months as the pressure on Turkish lenders increased,” said the banker. “The state-owned Halkbank used to work with us, but now none of them are working with Mellat, except individuals,” he said, adding that the money transfer between Iran and Turkey via Mellat took up to two days.

Bank Mellat, which is blacklisted by the United States, posted the highest profit at the end of first half of the year among foreign banks operating in Turkey. The lender’s profits jumped by 214 percent in the first six months of the year, reaching 32.6 million Turkish Liras; its profits were just 10.3 million liras during the same period last year.

“The most significant existing relationship between Iran and the Turkish financial system is through the Bank Mellat branches in Turkey,” David Cohen, acting undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said during an April visit to Ankara.

The U.S. Treasury was to blacklist some new foreign lenders, including Turkish banks, which have allegedly broken the financial sanctions imposed on Iran, a May 4 Reuters report said. HDN
Friday, October 21, 2011

 

Unemployement in Turkey falls to 9.1 percent

Monday, October 17, 2011
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Unemployment rate fell by 1.5 percentage points to 9.1 percent for the period between June and August, data published today by Turkey’s official statistical agency (TÜİK) showed. The number of unemployed fell by 273,000 to 2.509 million people in this period, compared to the same period last year.
Urban unemployment fell by 1.7 points to 11.5 percent, whereas rural unemployment fell by 0.8 points to 4.7 percent.
The number of employed people increased by 1.475 million people to 24.953 million people during the period between June and August, compared to the same period last year. Non-agricultural unemployment fell from 13.6 to 11.8 percent whereas labor market participation rate increased from 50 to 51.2 percent in this period, compared to the same period last year, according to TÜİK figures.

TPG seeks way into local energy, media businesses

Wednesday, October 12, 2011GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
TPG Capital, former owner of Turkey’s Mey İçki, says it is ready to revisit the country with bigger investments in energy and media. A partner of the US-based firm tells the Daily News that TV channels are much more profitable than newspapers.




Bonderman, founding partner of TPG and the company’s local representative Cüneyd Zapsu, listens to a speech during the Investing Turkey conference in Istanbul. AA photo.

TPG Capital, a global private equity investment company, is planning for a vast amount of investment in Turkey that might exceed its former alcoholic drinks business of Mey İçki, according to a senior executive.

The new TPG investments will focus on energy and media, Ramzi Gadeon, a TPG partner, told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday while speaking on the sidelines of the group’s “Investing Turkey” meeting in Istanbul.

“Rather than acquiring a Turkish newspaper, we are interested in buying a Turkish TV channel, as it would be much more profitable,” Gadeon said, declining to comment on the recent speculation that that the company might consider partnering with Turkey’s Ciner Group in the media business.

“TPG is ready to invest a minimum of $100 million and up to billions of dollars in Turkey’s media and energy sectors,” he said.

TPG had acquired Turkey’s Mey İçki, which also owns Turkey’s traditional and largely consumed Yeni Rakı alcohol band in 2006 for $800 million from the state. It sold the drinks maker for nearly $2.1 billion to Diageo in February.

Energy privatization
The Turkish government will focus more on privatization in the energy sector, according to Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek. “We aim to conclude the privatization of electricity distribution companies,” Şimşek said at the TPG event.

The government plans sales in electricity generation facilities rapidly within the next few years, adding that the process of privatizing highways and bridges has also been initiated, he said.

“Turkey’s current account deficit came to an unsustainable level,” Şimşek said, adding that the economy administration is also working on the structural reforms to bring down the skyrocketing current account deficit. “Privatization is also structural reform,” he said.

According to Şimşek, weaker consumer demand in Europe, unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, and rising oil consumption have played an important role in Turkey’s rising current account deficit.

Turkey’s energy imports will top $50 billion this year and in 2012, Şimşek said. “It is not possible to change this figure in the short term,” he said.

The minister also said the country was readying to enact a law against the black market business activity.

“Turkey has succeeded well so far throughout the global economic crisis,” whereas the rest of the world is going through leveraging difficulties, said David Bonderman, founding partner of TPG Capital as he was speaking at yesterday’s conference.

“The developed world will not get any better,” and if there would be no solution found the ongoing European economic crisis, “the result would be a tragedy,” he said.

Still, Turkey has serious difficulty related to its current account deficit, said Ümit Boyner, president of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), adding that by the second quarter of this year, the country’s current account deficit reached more than 9 percent of the gross national income. “We expect Turkey’s economy’s to slow down to 7 percent by the end of this year,” she said.

Turkey not a mentor
“Every man is the architect of his own fate,” said Ali Babacan, deputy Turkish prime minister referring to the United States’ Federal Reserve stimulus package of $400 billion.

Turkey will continue to implement strong fiscal discipline while working toward slashing the country’s current account deficit, Babacan said, speaking at the conference.

Talking on the ongoing Arab Spring, Babacan said, “We do not want to act like a mentor to Arab nations; we only have to share our experiences with them.”

Babacan also said the Turkish government’s plan was to make Istanbul one of the 10 biggest financial centers in the world by 2023, adding that Turkey offered great opportunities with its domestic markets and geographic position.

Radar to lure Iran to table, says Kissinger

Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

NATO’s missile radar will draw Iran back to the negotiating table for
talks on its nuclear drive, says prominent former US diplomat Kissinger



Kissinger says ‘Turkey will play an important role regarding Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.’ AFP photo
A sophisticated NATO radar system deployed on Turkish soil would force Iran into restarting negotiations on its nuclear program, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has said while also praising Ankara’s role in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria. “The radar system will be installed against a [possible] nuclear threat from Iran,” Kissinger, a highly influential former diplomat, said in response to a question by the Hürriyet Daily News.

“But it will also serve as an instrument to bring Iran [closer] to constructive negotiations with the West,” said Kissinger during an investment conference held by private equity giant TPG Capital yesterday.

When the agreement to deploy the missile shield was announced last month, U.S. officials described it as “the biggest strategic decision between the United States and Turkey in the past 15 or 20 years.” “Turkey and the United States have always been [on the same wavelength], taking the same side,” said the 88-year-old Kissinger, a master practitioner of “Realpolitik” - diplomacy based primarily on power and practical considerations.

The radar system developed by the U.S. will complement 24 interceptor missiles to be based in Romania and will be installed at a military base in Malatya, about 700 kilometers from the Iranian border. A similar system has been operating in Israel for the past three years. “There is no doubt that Turkey will play an important role regarding Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya,” Kissinger said, noting that Turkey “has been acting in a constructive way” toward Syria. He said he supported Turkey’s increasingly confrontational tone in warning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on his regime’s conduct against its own people.

Kissinger, who served as the secretary of state under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, likened the “Arab Spring” to a tsunami, after which the difficulty of establishing highly representative governments floats to the surface.

“When a revolution occurs, different parts of society with different values and backgrounds come together and bundle into a huge tsunami,” Kissinger said. “When the waves disappear and the water recedes, however, lingering problems come to the surface.”

‘Egypt may stabilize easily’
In a country like Egypt, which has a strong tradition of statecraft, it might be “easier to stabilize,” said Kissinger. “However, if the country never had rules as a real state throughout its history, [the task] becomes harder.”Kissinger described Turkey as a country “among the rising stars of the world.” Since Ottoman times, the country has always had “a great influence” on many countries, he said.

Invest in France, settle in France, diplomat says

Saturday, October 8, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

France offers good opportunities for Turkish firms, a French envoy for foreign investments says. France prepares to include lessons in Turkish at Strasbourg schools to attract Turkish investors with their families



Turkish firms are invited to invest in France, particularly for ‘The Greater Paris’ project, a public transportation project where France will put in $32 billion, Appia says. Hürriyet photo.

The French government wants to see more Turkish businesses investing in the country, including in a $32 billion-infrastructure project in greater Paris, according to the French ambassador for international investments.

“We believe in the potential of Turkey,” David Appia told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent interview. “Turkish companies are very successful in the international arena.”

“The investment trend is changing,” Appia said, implying a change in the one-way investment direction from developed economies to emerging ones as in the past.

The French government is also considering whether to launch Turkish-speaking sections at schools in Strasbourg by 2013 to support Turkish investment in the country.

Turkey is listed in a recent Invest in France Agency (IFA) document with other countries such as China and India. The idea behind providing classes in these foreign languages is to provide better living conditions for foreign investors and their families in the country.

More companies have begun to look at investment opportunities in France in recent years, Appia said. “We invite Turkish companies to invest in France.” Emphasizing that nearly 10 percent of the total foreign direct investments (FDI) to France last year came from BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – Appia said “the trend is favorable” in terms of investments from emerging countries.

Still, 65 percent of France’s, FDI comes from Central European countries.

“The imbalance is still there [in terms of] Turkish investments in France and French investment in Turkey,” said Appia, noting that only 40 Turkish firms were currently operating in the country while 400 French firms were operating in Turkey at the end of 2010.

More Turkish companies heading to France
“In the last eight years, there were only six Turkish firms directly investing in France, but by the end of the first half of this year, another six Turkish firms had directly invested in our country through joint ventures and acquisitions,” Appia said. “This shows the interests of the Turkish firms in France.”

Many Turkish firms from the agro-industry, services, real estate and tourism sectors are increasingly interested in investing in France, he said.

Each Turkish investment in France creates roughly 50 jobs, he said. “We aim to attract more investments through our recently founded IFA in Istanbul,” said Appia.

“We focus on investment creating jobs. Investors come for some French companies that are in financial difficulty and acquire the company and maintain the jobs,” said Appia, noting that there were over 20,000 foreign firms employing more than 2 million people in 2010. In 2008, nearly 2,000 foreign firms received France’s research tax credit, according to IFA documents.

Appia said “The Greater Paris” project represented an important opportunity for investment. France will invest more than $32 billion in public transport in the greater Paris region. On the Saclay Plateau, in the south of greater Paris, more than 2 billion euros have been earmarked to construct Europe’s largest scientific and technological campus by 2020.

“Turkish companies invest heavily in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, Ukraine and Romania, [but] Western European countries also present a strong potential with extensive know how and a technological base with successful brands,” he said, noting that a French business delegation would meet with Turkish companies Oct. 13. Appia said stronger economic bonds between Turkey and France could also support Turkey’s bid to become a full member of the European Union in the future.

‘Turkey among seven sizzling economies,’ warns top adviser

Thursday, October 6, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Many emerging economies, including Turkey, are very open to global risks, says US President Obama’s top adivsor Laura Tyson. She warns of high money inflows

Many said the US mortgage sector was not large enough to trigger a crisis, says Maura Tyson. ‘European sovereign debt is big enough to cause another.’

Turkey ranks among the top seven sizzling economies currently with a high risk for inflation, a fast flow of hot money and an alarming current account deficit, according to the top economy advisor in U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration.

“There is so much short-term foreign capital rushing into emerging countries including Turkey,” said Laura Tyson, a member of the U.S. President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, during an interview yesterday at the “We carry the economy” meeting organized by Turkey’s Aras Cargo based in Istanbul.

The rapid growth in emerging economies, nearly three times larger than developed countries, contains some lingering risks, she said.

“Turkey has not developed a major export strategy that is as diversified as in Asian countries,” said Tyson, adding that domestic-demand-driven economic growth might be a risk for Turkey considering more than 60 percent of its export is to debt-hit European economies.

Argentina, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Vietnam are among the sizzling economies as of the end of the first half of this year, according to Tyson.

“The slowdown in recovery this year has forced many economists around the world to bring down their predictions,” said Tyson, adding that many upped the risk forecast on the global economy. She said the uncertainty in global markets and in the Middle East played a significant role in the rise of the commodity prices, oil and food in this year.

Economies that rely on oil imports will have serious problems in the long run if their current account deficits cannot be financed in the meantime, according to her. “Importing oil does not put the same pressure on an emerging country and a developed country, as an emerging country relies more on oil imports than the other to keep its growth sustainable,” said Tyson.

“I think the authorities in Turkey understand the importance of controlling inflation and the hot money flows into the country,” said Tyson, adding that unorthodox steps by the Turkish Central Bank had worked well so far. Compared to many countries in Europe, Turkey has no debt problem, she said, adding that the country still needs approximately $75 billion to finance its skyrocketing current account deficit. “Turkey is not isolated from U.S. and European economies, and it is likely to feel the shock of a new crisis,” Tyson said

“Turkey also does not have a large reserve of foreign exchange,” she said.

Currency wars
While talking about the currency wars often discussed among leading economists, she said, “I do not think the Chinese yuan is overvalued,” said Tyson. “The competition between the U.S. and China before the global economic crisis came back and it’s not a consequence of the crisis,” she said while backing Federal Reserves’ August decision to keep the interest rates “exceptionally low” until at least 2013. “The Federal Reserve is doing the right thing now. They do not have an aim of pressuring other currencies,” said Tyson.

Crisis-hit European economies suffering under heavy sovereign debts might experience a second recession, which could trigger a second global economic crisis, Tyson said. “Many said the U.S. mortgage sector was not large enough to trigger a crisis before, and it did eventually. Now I say that European sovereign debt is big enough to cause another crisis.”Tyson was the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers between 1993 and 1995 in the Clinton administration and the president’s national economic adviser between 1995 and 1996.
Thursday, October 6, 2011

Turkey’s Israel messages well conveyed, US businessman says

Monday, October 3, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
Istanbul - Hürriyet Daily News



Turkey behaved correctly expressing diplomatic concerns to Israel, Donohue says.
Turkey has made the right move voicing its concerns on the diplomatic arena while maintaining strong economic bonds with Israel, according to Tom Donohue, the top U.S. business and trade representative in Istanbul.

“Turkey has done a good job expressing its concerns on the diplomatic arena,” Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview after a meeting held by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, or DEİK. “Meanwhile, maintaining strong economic relations with Israel is important for both countries and the region.”

He said Israel also made it clear that they desired to keep economic relations safe from political disputes. “I came to Turkey with the view that if we could improve economic relations in the region, then other things would follow,” said Donohue. Turkey and Israel bilateral trade volume hit $3.1 billion in 2010, jumping 26 percent from $2.5 billion in 2009. Israel’s exports to Turkey accounted for around $1.35 billion of this figure, making Turkey the sixth most important trade partner for Tel Aviv.

“We are advocates of Turkey’s role in the region,” said Donohue. Noting that the U.S. Chamber aimed to extend economic relations with the Arab world, he said: “This can be done through the support of our friends in Turkey.”

Evaluating the ongoing Arab Spring, Donohue said: “I see that there are extraordinary opportunities in the region both for the U.S. and Turkey to collaborate on trade and joint investment. People in the Middle East and North Africa are seeking to learn from Turkey’s experience, taking it as a role model.”

Turkey’s trade with Iran will not affect U.S. trade with Turkey, according to Donohue, emphasizing that Iran was still among the top concerns of the U.S. regarding regional stability. Turkey’s total trade volume with Iran reached $10.6 billion by the end of last year, according to official data. Turkey’s total export volume to Iran also reached nearly $3 billion last year, rising from nearly $2 billion of 2009. Turkey’s import volumes also skyrocketed to $7.64 billion in 2010 compared to $3.4 billion in 2010.

“I am not going to propose how Turkey should deal with Iran; we obviously have some challenges with Iran right now,” Donohue said. He also said he hoped Turkey will use its positive influence economically on Syria.

Deal with north Cyprus, top minister tells the EU

Friday, September 30, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bağış says the European Union should negotiate with the northern Cyprus not with Turkey regarding the gas drilling issue in the Eastern Mediterranean. ‘EU countries should directly address the northern Cyprus government, as Turkey is not the one searching for oil and gas in the Mediterranean,’ he says



Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bağış (R) is talking with the EU High Commissioner Stefan Fule in the European Parliament in Strasbourg in this file photo.

The European Union should address the northern Cyprus government directly, not Turkey, regarding the oil and gas exploration controversy in the region, Turkey’s minister of EU affairs said Friday, calling southern Cyprus’s approach to the conflict “spoiled.”

“They keep addressing their concerns to Turkey, but the decision to carry out geophysical and seismic research in the Mediterranean is a decision made by Turkish Cyprus,” said Minister Egemen Bağış, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News on the sidelines of the European People Management Conference held in Istanbul.

“EU countries should directly address the northern Cyprus government, as Turkey is not the one searching for oil and gas in the Mediterranean. The northern Cyprus government made the agreement with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation [TPAO],” said Bağış.

“Turkey’s actions in the region are not actually actions, but reactions,” said Bağış. “If the action stops, the reaction will stop, if it does not, then the reaction continues.” He said the Greek Cypriots triggered the crisis by starting oil and gas drilling in the eastern Mediterranean Sea while the Turkish and Greek sides of Cyprus were having reunification talks.

Spoiled behavior
Members of the European parliament were united on Tuesday in their concerns about the rising tensions between Turkey and Greek Cyprus in the dispute over oil and gas exploration and the parliament condemned Turkey’s “threats” and stressed that any threat against one member state was a threat against the whole EU. “They should look first who really started this conflict,” said Bağış. “It wasn’t us. It was Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias.” Bağış also said Turkey was not threatening Europe though it would continue to secure its own rights in its territory.

“The minister said Greek Cyprus was one of the main reasons Turkey’s EU membership negotiations have stalled. “Just because of the spoiled behavior of Greek Cyprus we were unable to open the energy chapter in our membership negotiations with the European Union. [Greek Cyprus] is using these matters as an instrument in domestic politics.” Christofias on Friday said Greek Cyprus would continue to explore for oil and gas in its exclusive economic zone, and that his side of the island was disappointed with Turkey’s continental-shelf delimitation accord with Turkish Cyprus. He also called the accord “provocative” for the international community, the Anatolia news agency reported. 

Bağış said Greek Cyprus had long blocked Turkey’s negotiations and opening new chapters with the EU. “Our primary aim is full membership.” Noting that Turkey could only open 13 chapters out of 33, Bağış said, “Seventeen chapters are blocked politically. The EU only wants three chapters to be opened, and those are the ones that would bring an economic burden on Turkey’s economy.” The U.S. on Thursday renewed its support for Greek Cyprus’s “right” to explore for gas, as the showdown between Greek Cypriots and Turks intensified. “The United States supports Cyprus’s right to explore for energy. Having a U.S. company involved in developing the energy resources of Cyprus is also positive,” U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters, AFP reported.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said he was not expecting an armed struggle in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and invited all parties to find a peaceful solution to the gas drilling issue.

Firm makes use of waste heat for power

Thursday, September 29, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
Çanakkale - Hürriyet Daily News



The total production of Sabancı’s two cement companies, Akçansa (above) and Çimsa, exceeded $1 billion at the end of last year, says chief executive Zafer Kurtul.

Turkey’s biggest cement producer Akçansa, a subsidiary of Sabancı Holding, has opened a waste heat recovery plant at a cost of nearly $24 million to generate nearly 30 percent of the total energy demand for the company’s cement plant in the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

Heidelberg, the German partner of the company, is targeting more investment in the Turkish cement market, executives said during a Thursday ceremony at the plant.

“This investment will generate approximately 105 million kilowatt-hours in one year, meeting 30 percent of the cement plant’s needs in Çanakkale,” said Zafer Kurtul, Sabancı Holding’s chief executive, at the opening ceremony of the waste heat recovery plant.

“It will prevent nearly 60,000 tons of carbon emissions each year,” Kurtul said. Noting that the country needs to slash its current account deficit, which is largely due to energy imports, he said: “We should have more such plants.”

Having partnered with Sabancı 15 years ago in the cement sector, Heidelberg, which is the largest cement producer in Germany, is targeting more investments in Turkey, said Heildelberg board chairman Bernd Scheifele, speaking to the Daily News on the sidelines of the meeting. “Turkey and Germany are economically growing in Europe and we are interested in more investments together with Sabancı,” he said.

Second dip anxiety headlines finance convention in Istanbul

Wednesday, September 28, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Economists joining the Istanbul Finance Summit underline that the slower US economy is raising the anxiety in markets. Still, Turkey is firm, Economy Minister Çağlayan says



This file photo shows skyscrapers rising in central Istanbul. Turkish Central Bank Gov Basci says Turkey must take care to ensure that Istanbul becomes a financial center. AA photo
With the number of jobless increasing and investor confidence continuing to drop in the United States, the world financial markets await a light at the end of the tunnel, according to experts speaking at the 2nd Istanbul Finance Summit on Wednesday.

“Extending the payroll tax credit to put a thousand dollar in the pocket of the average American worker will not solve the unemployment problem as U.S. President Barack Obama imagines,” said Anthony Randazzo, director of U.S. Economic Research at the Reason Foundation, speaking on the sidelines of the finance summit held in Istanbul.

“The unemployment rate is 5 percent higher than in 2007,” Randazzo told the Hürriyet Daily News, noting that millions of people have been left jobless since the housing bubble burst.

“Most importantly, U.S. unemployment will affect the rest of the world,” Randazzo said, adding that it could even trigger a second crisis similar to how the housing crisis resulted in a global crisis and eurozone crisis a few years ago. “The U.S. will pay approximately $200 billion to $300 billion to support unemployed people, which will not encourage them to rejoin the work force eventually.”

He said the slow growth in the U.S economy would increase anxiety in the global markets.

“The collapse of the eurozone would have disastrous results globally,” said Dr. Vince Cable, the U.K.’S secretary of state for business, innovation and skills. “We hope eurozone countries will solve the ongoing problem. This would be in our best interest despite the U.K. not being a eurozone member. It would also be in the best interest of Turkey,” Cable said.

Cable said a vast liquidity fund needs to be collected for possible emergency actions in debt-stricken countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain.

As the world storms through the global crisis that has hit European countries particularly hard, Turkey has managed to do well, said Zafer Çağlayan, Turkey’s economy minister, addressing participants at the summit. “Turkey continues to attract investment and continues to grow amid the financial tsunami.”

“If Turkey had the same global economic crisis in 2001 – the year that Turkey experienced one of the worst banking crises in its history – we could have been even worse off than Greece is in its current situation,” said Çağlayan. The Turkish minister also noted that Europe’s leading powers, Germany and France, have “their own wrongdoing” in Greece’s economic problems. “Rather than solving the problems and working on precautions, they preferred to just talk,” Çağlayan said.

“Greece and Europe are paying the cost of their rakishness, they are paying the cost of the meals they ate before,” said Çağlayan, adding that Turkey would not desire its closest neighbor to be in such a hard situation economically.

‘Unfreeze Libyan assets’
Nearly $168 billion of frozen assets of the Libyan interim government are being used as leverage in some countries without interest in return, said Çağlayan, calling for the assets to be unfrozen.

“When we look at the Middle East and Libya, we are not seeing the natural resources of those counties, just the people,” said Çağlayan, urging countries to unfreeze Libyan assets. “Nearly $168 billion would be equal to credit worth $1 trillion,” he said. “So-called civilized nations are using the Libyan money to leverage their economies.”

Iraq wants to take part in Turkish electricity plans

Monday, September 26, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The Iraqi government eyes Turkish cooperation in rehabilitating its war-hit electricity network and joining its neighbor’s plans to sell electricity to several Mediterranean countries, according to an expert. Turkey can contribute to Iraq’s energy projects through technical advice and expertise in energy, says another.



A man checks the many electricity wires attached to a pylon as the Iraqi capital Baghdad endures another stifling summer with only a few hours of power a day this summer.

War-stricken Iraq aims to take part in Turkey’s recently announced interconnected regional electricity network for southern and eastern Mediterranean countries with its vast natural resources in a bid to export a potential energy surplus to Europe via Turkey.

“Iraq wants to take part in Turkey’s master plan for electricity interconnection,” Luay Al Khatteeb, head of the London-based Iraq’s Energy Institute, told the Hürriyet Daily News on the sidelines of the “Iraq Future Energy 2011” conference in Istanbul on Monday.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız previously said Turkey was working on a master plan for electricity interconnection in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Algeria during his official visit to Cairo accompanying Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 14.

Talking about the investment opportunities in Iraq’s natural gas, oil and electricity, Khatteeb said, “Especially northern Iraq is a safe haven for investments.”

He said both countries already reached a total trade volume of $6 billion as of the end of last year. “Now the countries are targeting $10 billion in a few years’ time,” he said.

According to Al Khatteeb, the close trade bonds between the parties require more cooperation in energy. “Once we start to have surplus capacity, Iraq can be well connected to Europe through Turkey and export electricity through an interconnected regional network,” said Al Khatteeb speaking about the future plans of the Iraqi government. “These are goals for the future but they are very possible.”

According to him, if there could be a proper national strategy on the Iraqi side, these plans would be well implemented.

Developing gas fields
Iraq has an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The Akkas field on Syria’s border has estimated reserves around 5.6 trillion cubic feet; the Mansouriya field located in the northern province of Diyala has 4.5 trillion cubic feet; and the Siba field on the Kuwaiti border has approximately 1.1 trillion cubic feet of reserves, according to Iraq’s Oil Ministry. Kuwait Energy Co., Türkiye Petrolleri and the Korea Gas Corp signed contracts to develop Iraq’s Mansouriya and Siba gas fields at a ceremony in Baghdad on Nov. 14.

“Turkey has an important role in the region,” said Simon Stolp, senior energy specialist of the Word Bank, speaking to the Daily News during the conference. “The country can contribute to Iraq’s energy projects through technical advice and Turkish expertise in energy.”

Commenting on Turkey’s electricity master plan, Stolp said, “There is an ongoing discussion in developing an integrated network and Turkey will be a significant priority in that.”

Still he added that “the current transmission links of Iraq are still low in capacity for a regional network.”

Noting that Iraq needs nearly $4 billion in direct investment over 20 years in gas and electricity, Stolp said, “We continue the discussions and Iraq might take part in such a network in the future.”

Firm to sell electronic vote devices to Turkey

Sunday, September 25, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A leading manufacturer of automatic teller machines is planning to introduce electronic voting machines in Turkey, following the company’s success in Brazil



Diebold would like to have talks with Turkish authorities regarding their plans to introduce electronic voting machines to the country, Swidarski says. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Diebold, one of the leading producers of security and self-service transaction systems such as high-tech automatic teller machines, could introduce electronic voting machines to the Turkish market, the company’s top executive has said.

“We have found a very good business in Brazil regarding Diebold election systems and we might have the same chance in the Turkish market, too,” Thomas W. Swidarski, Diebold’s president and chief executive officer of the company, told the Hürriyet Daily News during a recent interview.

The largest manufacturer of ATMs in the U.S. market, Diebold aims to break into the Turkish market through high-tech ATM machines and expand the business by launching new products and services.

Asked whether he would like to share Diebold’s plans of launching election machines in Turkey with Turkish officials, Swidarski said, “Absolutely… I could see that in next few years time, it might be possible.”

Noting that his company manufactures and operates election machines in Brazil, Swidarski said Turkey could be the country where Diebold launches such systems on the market. “In Brazil, we have around 500,000 election machines and nearly 120 million people have voted with them.” The company has used close to 100,000 voting machines in Brazil – even in the Amazon – Swidarski said, but added that the same technology might not always work in other countries due to software differences.

ATM machines first
“We plan to first start with the ATMs and expand our business further,” said Swidarski, noting that Turkish banks would be the best reference for Diebold in launching new products and services in Turkey. “If the banks trust you, all the other institutions could easily put trust in you,” he added.

“Turkey is one of the most important markets for us in Europe and the Middle East and Africa regions,” he said. The reasons Diebold decided to open its direct office in Istanbul nearly two years ago was the country’s healthy banking environment, robust economy and young and dynamic population, which is adaptable to high technology, Swidarski added.

“Having had some conversations with the executives of Turkish banks, we have given a few of our high-tech ATMs for trial,” said Swidarski.

The company recently presented its Diebold Opteva 868 model ATM, which offers advanced deposit automation technology, integrated flexibility and high-security measures such as biometric signatures, to Turkish banks. “We aim to cut almost 50 percent of Turkish banks’ spending by keeping ATMs sustainable,” he said, noting that through monitoring ATMs remotely, Diebold could solve the problems that might occur from a distance.

“If something is wrong with the service of an ATM, we can sort out the matter at a distance without sending someone over there,” he said.

There are nearly 4,000 ATMs in Turkey, according to Swidarski, who said Diebold’s current share in the Turkish ATM market was approximately 6 percent but added that the company would like to increase this share to 30 percent within the next few years.
Sunday, September 25, 2011

Firm to sell electronic vote devices to Turkey

Sunday, September 25, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A leading manufacturer of automatic teller machines is planning to introduce electronic voting machines in Turkey, following the company’s success in Brazil




Diebold would like to have talks with Turkish authorities regarding their plans to introduce electronic voting machines to the country, Swidarski says. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Diebold, one of the leading producers of security and self-service transaction systems such as high-tech automatic teller machines, could introduce electronic voting machines to the Turkish market, the company’s top executive has said.

“We have found a very good business in Brazil regarding Diebold election systems and we might have the same chance in the Turkish market, too,” Thomas W. Swidarski, Diebold’s president and chief executive officer of the company, told the Hürriyet Daily News during a recent interview.

The largest manufacturer of ATMs in the U.S. market, Diebold aims to break into the Turkish market through high-tech ATM machines and expand the business by launching new products and services.

Asked whether he would like to share Diebold’s plans of launching election machines in Turkey with Turkish officials, Swidarski said, “Absolutely… I could see that in next few years time, it might be possible.”

Noting that his company manufactures and operates election machines in Brazil, Swidarski said Turkey could be the country where Diebold launches such systems on the market. “In Brazil, we have around 500,000 election machines and nearly 120 million people have voted with them.” The company has used close to 100,000 voting machines in Brazil – even in the Amazon – Swidarski said, but added that the same technology might not always work in other countries due to software differences.

ATM machines first
“We plan to first start with the ATMs and expand our business further,” said Swidarski, noting that Turkish banks would be the best reference for Diebold in launching new products and services in Turkey. “If the banks trust you, all the other institutions could easily put trust in you,” he added.

“Turkey is one of the most important markets for us in Europe and the Middle East and Africa regions,” he said. The reasons Diebold decided to open its direct office in Istanbul nearly two years ago was the country’s healthy banking environment, robust economy and young and dynamic population, which is adaptable to high technology, Swidarski added.

“Having had some conversations with the executives of Turkish banks, we have given a few of our high-tech ATMs for trial,” said Swidarski.

The company recently presented its Diebold Opteva 868 model ATM, which offers advanced deposit automation technology, integrated flexibility and high-security measures such as biometric signatures, to Turkish banks. “We aim to cut almost 50 percent of Turkish banks’ spending by keeping ATMs sustainable,” he said, noting that through monitoring ATMs remotely, Diebold could solve the problems that might occur from a distance.

“If something is wrong with the service of an ATM, we can sort out the matter at a distance without sending someone over there,” he said.

There are nearly 4,000 ATMs in Turkey, according to Swidarski, who said Diebold’s current share in the Turkish ATM market was approximately 6 percent but added that the company would like to increase this share to 30 percent within the next few years.
Sunday, September 25, 2011

IMF’s forecast on Turkey far from reality, economists think

Friday, September 23, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News 

The IMF’s recent forecast on the Turkish economy, which includes a slowdown and a need for interest rate cut, is not appreciated by Turkish economists speaking to the Daily News. ‘They should really stop comparing Turkey with Bulgaria and Romania,’ says one. The reputation of the IMF has been damaged, adds another




The World Economic Outlook report by the IMF says Turkey will grow 7.27 percent this year before a 2.5 percent growth in 2012. Turkish economists think such a contradiction in the Turkish economy is not logical. DHA photo
Several Turkish economists on Friday remained critical of the latest International Monetary Fund, or IMF, forecasts for Turkey, which predicted a soft landing in the Turkish economy and advised the country to fight inflation and raise key interest rates.

“Unfortunately, Western economists do not understand what Turkey has been trying to do,” Turkish economist Deniz Gökçe said, adding that Turkey has no problems with its fiscal policy.

The IMF revised its forecast for a “soft landing” for Turkey from 7.5 percent gross domestic growth by the end of this year following with 2.5 percent growth in 2012 in its World Economic Outlook report revealed at an Istanbul meeting on Friday.

“The IMF sees quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted growth remaining positive,” said Mark Lewis, senior president representative of the IMF in Turkey, speaking at the meeting, where IMF officials tried to avoid commenting on issues particularly related with Turkey.

Still, Lewis said that Turkish inflation may exceed the Central Bank’s year-end forecast of 7.27 percent and urged authorities to restore credibility by raising rates and dropping “innovative” policies.

The Turkish Central Bank has the interest rate set at a historic low of 5.75 percent.

“Turkey has done exceptionally well bringing down inflation but still needs to do more,” Lewis told the Hürriyet Daily News on the sidelines of the meeting.

The IMF revised its growth forecast to 7.27 from 6.6 percent earlier. The fund also revised Turkey’s growth forecast for 2012 to 2.5 percent from 2.2 percent. Turkish financial authorities have room to tighten policy, the report said.

Disagreeing with IMF forecasts, Gökçe said, Europe needs to crush economically to have such a contradiction in Turkish economy. “They should really stop comparing Turkey with Bulgaria and Romania.”

“Turkey increased the reserve requirement ratio and dropped the overnight interest from 5 percent down to 1.5 percent, and [the IMF] did not understand this policy,” he told the Daily News in a phone interview on Friday. “In order to fight against the current account deficit, Turkey has started an expansionary fiscal policy and they have not understood us.”

Nurhan Toğuç, chief economist of Ata Invest based in Istanbul, also strictly disagreed with the IMF. Talking about the IMF’s call to restore credibility by raising rates, Toğuç told the Daily News that “having no debt problem and growing through domestic growth, I do not understand why Turkey needs to raise interest rates at all. The advice from the IMF is meaningless.”

Toğuç said the IMF’s recommendation to Turkey to raise the interest rates to a level higher than in Europe and the United States implied more benefits for Western investors in Turkey. “Unfortunately, the reputation of the IMF has been damaged,” Toğuç said.

The IMF’s advice for Turkey included a halt in selling U.S. dollars in a bid to support lira. However, news reports by Bloomberg from three emerging powers imply an opposite policy.

Intervention on currencies
India’s central bank may intervene in the foreign-exchange market if the rupee falls to levels seen during the global credit crisis, a Finance Ministry official said in New Delhi on Friday, the agency reported. Policy makers in South Korea and Indonesia also signaled they will intervene to curb currency losses.

“All Asian central banks will work to limit losses in their currencies as long as extreme volatility is prevalent,” said Emmanuel Ng, a currency strategist at the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “Over the last few years, the accumulation of foreign reserves has happened at a fair pace, so the buffer is definitely comfortable.” k HDN

Nurdan Bozkurt from Istanbul contributed to this report.

Chinese billionaires visit Turkey for opportunities

Wednesday, September 21, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

A mission from China’s Kingdom Club, say they are looking for investment opportunities in Turkey in fields including energy and finance. The Bank of China, meanwhile, continues preparations to open a Turkey branch




An employee looks up while working a electronics plant in China’s Suzhou in this photo. Some Chinese businesses seek investing in electronics sectors in Turkey.

Members of Kingdom Club, a Chinese business group of billonaires pose during a meeting in Istanbul with Turkish businessmen. Turkey is promising, the bosses say.

An elite group from China’s “Kingdom Club,” the business body formed by the wealthy businessmen whose firms’ rank among the Top 500 Chinese enterprises, visited Istanbul on Wednesday to analyze business opportunities in Turkey.

Agriculture, information technologies, electronics, energy and finance sectors are main fields of focus for the Asian billionaires, who met with Turkish businessmen at an exclusive meeting at the Çirağan Palace on the Bosphorus.

“The intention of the members of the club in visiting Istanbul is to observe business opportunities in Turkey,” said Shi Yuzhu, a shareholder in China Minsheng Bank and Huaxia Bank.

Shi said he was considering investing in the online gaming sector in Turkey, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News on the sidelines of the New Step to Silk Road meeting.

Having ranked 616th in the world’s billionaires list of Forbes in 2010, Shi also serves as vice president of Giant Interactive, the online game company.

“We are newly meeting with business opportunities in Turkey,” said Fu Jun, vice president of All China Industry of Commerce, and owner of Macrolink Group, the mining, chemical industry and real estate company.

“I am considering hotel and tourism investments on the southern and western coasts of Turkey,” he said. Considering Turkey’s strong economic growth in recent years, the country would attract more Chinese investors in near future, Fu said.

Turkey and China have been planning to mutually launch banks in each country in a bid to operate in both yuan and lira and boost bilateral trade. However, Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, or BRSA, which is tepid to new banks in the country, set as a condition capital of at least $300 million for the foundation of a Chinese bank branch, Turkish media reported earlier. The reports said Turkish officials and the Bank of China stopped negotiations due to the BRSA condition.

Speaking to the Daily News, Lianli Zhang, chief representative of the Bank of China office based in Istanbul, denied claims. “The negations continue between the Bank of China and BRSA officials currently.” The Bank of China can well consider that amount for opening up a branch in Turkey, Lianli said.

Istanbul awaits China bank
Talking about the Bank of China’s appetite to take a place in the Turkish banking sector, “It would be so important to have the sixth biggest bank in the world in Istanbul,” Hüsnü Özyeğin, chairperson for the Turkish-Chinese Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, or DEİK, told the Daily News.

Özyeğin’s Fiba Bank already has a representation office in China.
Trade volume between the two countries has grown from $2 billion in 2002 to approximately $17 billion in 2010.

Chen Feng, chairman of the Hainan Airlines Group, which broken into the Turkish market by acquiring 49 percent of Turkey’s ACT Airlines for $25 million in July, said, “Chinese businessmen were about to visit Africa and I told them skip it and come to Turkey to observe the potential here.”
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Egyptians in Turkey for new business ties

Monday, September 19, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL



An Egyptian business delegation with of 41 members listens to local counterparts in southern Turkey. The trade volume between the parties reached $3.4 billion last year. AA photo

Egyptian businessmen visited Turkey for the first time since the revolution to look for ways to resume business bonds with the country, said the head of the Egyptian-Turkish Business Council on Monday.

“The visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Egypt last week has worked more than thousands of compliments could be made for Egypt-Turkey relations,” said Zuhal Mansfield, head of Turkish-Egyptian Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, or DEİK, in an e-mail response to Hürriyet Daily News questions. There have been close relations with the new Egypt following uprising that began Jan. 25, she said.

A delegation of 41 Egyptian businessmen visited Turkey’s southern province of Adana and Mersin on Monday and will visit two major industrial cities in the south, Gaziantep and Iskenderun, on Tuesday to have bilateral meetings with Turkish businessmen.

“Our prime minister went there to pave the way for Turkish traders and businessmen,” said Mansfield, noting that the visit has proved that Turkish and Egyptian business bonds would be stronger than ever. Turkey’s approach during the North African country’s hard times would play a significant role in developing closer ties with Turkey, she said.

The Turkish and Egyptian trade volume reached $3.4 billion by the end of last year. “We aim to reach a total trade volume of $10 billion in the next five years,” Mansfield said.

There were almost no Turkish businessmen in Egypt five years ago, according to Mansfield, who said Turkish businesses have invested approximately a total of $1.5 billion in Egypt during the last five years. According to her, Egypt in its post-revolution era will witness approximately $5 billion in Turkish investment by 2015.

Mansfield also said the new Egyptian interim government should start issuing five-year visas for Turkish businessmen, adding that this would accelerate the business relations between both countries. Turkey and Egypt already have been working on a draft for a free trade zone agreement that is expected to be signed in 2020. “We can backdate it to 2015.”

Turkish bank in Egypt

The business council head said opening banks in both Turkey and Egypt was a must to ease transactions between the two countries. “Now it’s time to have a [Turkish] bank in Egypt,” she said. Mansfield also said Turkey and Egypt would soon start roll on-roll off maritime services between Mersin and the Egyptian city of Alexandria.

“The southern province of Adana ranks as the 13th biggest goods supplier of Egypt, exporting nearly $25 million to Egypt annually,” said Sadi Sürenkök, chairman of the Adana Chamber of Commerce said, according to an Anatolian news agency report on Monday. “I believe trade between the countries will accelerate,” Sürenkök added.

“We aim to have closer bonds with Turkish businessmen as we also would like cooperate in textile and construction sectors,” said Ahmet Hassan, vice chairman of Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, the agency reported. “We will do our best and ease the investment process for Turkish investors in Egypt,” he said.

Expert says IMF should tidy up eurozone house

Sunday, September 18, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The International Monetary Fund should take a larger role in Europe’s efforts to overcome the debt crisis, launching a fund to be contributed by eurozone members, according Elias Karakitsos, chairman of Global Economic Research firm. Still, ‘egos of European politicians are too big to allow this to happen,’ he says




IMF chair Christine Lagarde addresses a news conference at the end of an eurozone leaders summit in this July 21 photo. Greek politicians do not want to take the cost of the needed measures to avoid the darkest scenario, says Elias Karakitsos. REUTERS photo

The ongoing debt crisis in Europe’s 17-country, single-currency zone can only be prevented through a unique fund in which all member countries contribute from their national taxes, and the fund should be controlled by the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, according to a senior economist speaking Friday.

As the economic crisis in Europe has entered a new and critical phase, with fears that Greece could default and spark a global financial disaster, the only solution is a “10 percent tax allocation from each member state to an emergency fund that should be controlled by the IMF,” said Professor Elias Karakitsos, hedge fund manager of Guildhall Asset Management, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News on the sidelines of a conference held by Unicredit Turkey in Istanbul.

Lack of union
“Unfortunately, egos of European politicians are too big to allow this to happen,” said Karakitsos, adding that many politicians and economists would easily oppose the idea of handing over the safe box of Europe into the hands of Americans.

Karakitsos, also an associate member of the Center for Economic and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, said the main reason for the eurozone crisis is the “lack of fiscal and political union” amid a binding monetary union.

“Greece is the only state in the world where there is a state bubble,” Karakitsos said, in reference to the “corruption and lack of regulation and policies in Greece.” He also criticized Greece collecting a new emergency property tax levied on Greek citizens to raise $2.7 billion as “simply unfair.” Karakitsos said there was no way to slash the deficit by just increasing taxes, adding that the country needs more spending cuts. The professor said that by not cutting spending the politicians were entering a vicious cycle of debts and crises.

Greece will shed some 150,000 jobs in the public sector, long seen as an unwieldy burden on the country’s finances, by 2015 as part of the medium-term fiscal plan presented in detail by Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou recently.

According to Karakitsos, the country should solve this problem as soon as possible. Still pessimism lingers and “unfortunately I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel due to the unwillingness of European leaders.”

Greece has a sovereign debt pile of 340 billion euros ($481.5 billion), more than 30,000 euros per person, according to Reuters. Currently, with its debt equivalent to 150 percent of annual output, Greece holds two unwanted world records: the lowest credit rating for a sovereign state and the most expensive debt to insure.

Karakitsos said Greek politicians either do not understand how the problems accumulated over the years, or they simply just do not want to take the cost of the needed measures to avoid the darkest scenario. He said the problem went well beyond the country’s borders and 11.3 million people to the outskirts of the European continent.

“If it was just Greece, things would have been way easier,” he said.

Tesco may buy retail chains in Turkey, top executive says

Wednesday, September 14, 2011
GÖKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News


Tesco may consider to acquire Turkish retail chains, says Mike Arnott (L). AA photo AFP photo

Tesco, a global grocery and merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom which also owns Turkish retailer Kipa in western Turkey, might acquire local retail chains in the Turkish market, a top executive said Wednesday.

“We may consider acquiring some Turkish retail chains as we are open to all possibilities to grow in Turkey,” said Mike Arnott, trading director at Tesco Kipa, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News on the sidelines of a press conference held in Istanbul.

Tesco, which pulled out of the Japanese market last month, is planning for strong growth in Turkey’s retail market because of strong demand in consumption despite the ongoing global crisis, Arnott said. The company aims to increase its number of supermarkets from 131 to 150 by the end of this year, he said.

Turkish exports to Europe
The company also has operations in Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland, and started to buy products from Turkish suppliers last year. The amount of non-food exports from Turkey to Tesco supermarkets in Central Europe reached 300 million Turkish Liras by the end of last year. Turkey’s food exports last year reached $3.5 million (6.24 million liras).

“Last year we introduced Turkey’s simit (ring-shaped bread covered with sesame seeds), halva (nut-based confectionary butter), and fish to Central Europe,” he said, adding that this was the first step of the company’s project to further source Turkish produce. The Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, or TÝM, organized bilateral meetings for Tesco executives with nearly 60 Turkish suppliers on Wednesday. Tesco currently imports Turkish non-food products such as toys, bikes, electronics, furniture, hardware, kitchenware, textile, pencils and paints, he said.

“My family uses the Turkish products and I am satisfied with their quality and design. I think Turkey can become a major source for Tesco soon,” said Arnott, adding that the total volume of the company’s non-food imports from Turkey would rise within a few months.

Employment figures have approached 10,000 for Tesco Kipa and the company provided nearly 87 percent of the total products on their store’s shelves in Turkey, Arnott said. “We want to stay in Turkey and we aim to help Turkish suppliers expand to world markets through our company,” he said.

“Turkey has so much more to offer,” said Commercial Director of Central Europe Hardline at Tesco Chris Holmes.

French nuclear blast no big deal: Minister

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Gökhan Kurtaran
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News



France is ‘interested’ in Turkey’s plans to construct two or three nuclear power plant, French Minister Besson says a day after nuclear blast in south France. AA photo

Monday’s explosion at a French nuclear-waste processing plant may have invoked terrible memories of Chernobyl in the minds of millions, but it did not faze a top French Cabinet minister.

The blast at the Marcoule nuclear site was only an “industrial accident,” Eric Besson, the French minister in charge of industry, energy and digital economy, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview Tuesday in Istanbul, downplaying the incident that killed one person and injured four.

“The accident was minor and caused no leakage or radioactive problem,” Besson said, speaking on the sidelines of his talks with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan during the G-20 Conference on Commodity Price Volatility.

“The blast happened at a furnace used to burn waste, including fuels that had been used in nuclear energy production. [The furnace] had very low level of radiation,” the minister said, adding that the accident was “not nuclear, but industrial.” Still, he said, France will start a new stress test for its nuclear plants soon.

France eyeing Turkish nuclear tenders
Besson also told the Daily News that France is “interested” in Turkey’s plans to construct two or three nuclear power plants, which he said he discussed with Babacan on Tuesday morning. “France is still interested in taking part in Turkey’s nuclear plans. Of course, the final decision will be made by the Turkish government,” the French minister said.

In July 29, Tepco, the Japanese operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, withdrew from Japan’s bid to build Turkey’s second planned nuclear plant, in the country’s Black Sea region.

Speaking to the Daily News, Besson also commented on the debt crisis in the eurozone, which has been sending investors fleeing from French banks, including Societe Generale and BNP Paribas. The markets fear that these banks are holding significant amounts of peripheral eurozone debt, which remains on shaky foundations.

The minister said French banks were “safe,” adding that they have been “victims of speculation” in the market. His statement comes as investors are expecting a credit downgrade of French lenders from rating agency Moody’s. Regarding Greece’s moves to deal with the crisis, Besson said Paris would continue to “support Greek policies, reforms and measures.”

Babacan meanwhile reiterated that Turkey would be “minimally affected” by the global economic turmoil. “We are ready for all the scenarios regarding the eurozone crisis,” he told journalists, adding that the country should be ready for “a possible earthquake” related to the crisis. “If an earthquake happens to your neighbors, the shocks also affect you,” he said.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011